Panthers milestones to watch during the 2026-27 NHL season

The Florida Panthers begin the 2026-27 NHL season with several players closing in on significant career milestones. From Aleksander Barkov approaching 800 points to Brad Marchand chasing 500 goals and Jacob Markström closing in on 600 games, there will be plenty of numbers to track throughout the year. Here are 25 Panthers milestones to watch during the 2026-27 season.

25 Panthers milestones to watch in 2026-27

Uvis Balinskis

At just 156 games, Balinskis is 44 contests away from 200 in his career, something he can achieve this season. Additionally, with 14 more points, he’ll reach 50. 

Aleksander Barkov

After an entire season off, Barkov will be back to extend several of his franchise records, including assists. With 496, he’s only four helpers away from 500, and with another 18 points, he’ll become the first Florida player to reach 800.

Sam Bennett

The former fourth-overall pick will skate in his 800th NHL game this year, needing only 23 to reach the milestone. He’s also 12 goals shy of 200 for his career and needs six points to reach 400. As a frequent visitor to the penalty box, Bennett should surpass 800 career penalty minutes at some point, as he enters the season with 752.

Aaron Ekblad

Already the franchise leader for points by a defenseman, Ekblad is on pace to skate in his 850th and 875th games this season. With three more goals, he’ll have 125 for his career, while only needing 16 more assists for 300. 

Lars Eller

At 37, Eller can reach several milestones in 2026-27, including his 1,200th game, 200th goal, 250th assist, and 450th point. 

Gustav Forsling

On top of climbing the Panthers' all-time leaderboard among defensemen, Forsling will skate in his 600th game and collect his 250th point. Meanwhile, with an average of 162 shots on goal per season, he’s a lock to surpass 1,200 in his career. 

Radko Gudas

Back for a second tour of duty with the Panthers, Gudas is only 15 games away from reaching 900 in his career. Moreover, since he’s been compiling fewer penalty minutes over the past couple of seasons, he’s not guaranteed to hit 1,200 in his career, since he needs 88 to reach the milestone. 

Garnet Hathaway

Hathaway is about to make his Panthers debut and comes into Opening Night with 672 games under his belt, meaning he’ll most likely surpass 700 at some point this year. 

Seth Jones

If Jones remains healthy and skates in all 84 games, he’ll be just four games shy of 1,000 for his career. While he chases down that milestone, he could score his 500th point with another productive campaign, since he only needs 27 points to get there. Also, with just seven more shots on goal, he’ll surpass 2,000. 

Dmitry Kulikov

As another player looking to rebound after missing most of last season due to injury, Kulikov is only 63 games shy of 1,100 and is three helpers away from 200. Meanwhile, he is just 19 shots on goal away from 1,200 in his career. 

Sam Lafferty

Although it’s a long shot, since Lafferty is starting the season in the AHL, if he gets a shot to play in Florida, he’s only 22 games shy of 400 and eight points away from reaching 100. 

Anton Lundell

At just 24, Lundell is the future of the Panthers organization and enters the new season at 359 games, meaning he’ll surpass 400 at some point. Meanwhile, he enters the campaign just 22 goals shy of 100 and 49 points away from 250. 

Eetu Luostarinen

Through seven seasons, Luostarinen has already played 447 games, which puts him just 53 away from 500 in his career. 

Brad Marchand

When Marchand returns from offseason surgery, he’ll continue his quest for 1,200 games, with 1,152 already. Every goal he scores inches him closer to 500, since he stands at 451. Plus, with 17 more assists, he’ll have 600 for his career. It won’t happen this year, but 1,100 career points isn’t out of the question for the future Hall of Famer. 

Jacob Markström

After 16 seasons, Markström is now just 22 games away from 600 in his career and needs 36 wins to reach 300. Having already played 33,301 minutes, he’ll surpass 35,000 minutes late in the season based on his career averages. 

Niko Mikkola

Mikkola begins the new season just four games shy of 400. He is also three goals away from reaching 20 in his career. 

Alexander Petrovic

Like Lafferty, Petrovic is skating in the AHL to begin the season, but if he earns a call-up and skates in 27 games, he’ll reach 350 for his career. 

Cole Reinhardt

Reinhardt needs 23 games to reach 100 and is eight points shy of 25. 

Sam Reinhart

Reinhart, like several players on this list, is chasing down several milestones this season. He is currently just 61 games shy of 900, 27 goals short of 350, and 20 points away from reaching 700. 

Akira Schmid

As another player making his Panthers debut this year, Schmid is only 18 games away from 100 in his career. Additionally, with 18 wins, he’d reach 50.

Cole Schwindt

Also on his second tour of duty with Florida, Schwindt begins the new season just 22 games short of 100 for his career. 

Brady Tkachuk

The Panthers’ newest, biggest acquisition, Tkachuk will be busy all season long checking off milestones. At 572 games, he’s 28 short of 600 and needs 37 goals to reach 250. With 463 points, he’s a lock to reach 500 this year, needing only 37 more. Meanwhile, as he’s already shown in preseason action, Tkachuk will surpass 900 career penalty minutes this year. 

Matthew Tkachuk

If Tkachuk can return to his torrid scoring numbers from a few seasons ago, there’s no doubt he’ll reach a lot of personal milestones in 2026-27. Heading into opening night, he needs 37 games for 700, 47 goals for 300, and 30 points for 700. Moreover, if he causes trouble with his brother, he could reach 800 career penalty minutes, since he sits at 738. 

Carter Verhaeghe

The three-time Stanley Cup winner is approaching several personal milestones, including his 500th game, 200th goal, 200th assist, and 400th point. Right now, he needs only 12 games, 28 goals, 15 assists, and 43 points. 

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